Angels' Street loses his way in rare defeat

Angels closer Huston Street, right, walks off the field as the Texas Rangers' Adrian Beltre scores the game-winning run in the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. RONALD MARTINEZ , GETTY IMAGES

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ARLINGTON, Texas – It had been a while since Huston Street had allowed a run and even longer since he had taken a loss.

Six weeks had passed in the former case, almost a year in the latter. He had changed homes, from San Diego to Anaheim.

But the unmistakable feelings elicited by both did not change. The Angels closer found that out Sunday when he allowed four straight singles to turn a one-run ninth-inning lead into a 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park.

“It’s always a strange feeling when you don’t get your job done,” Street said. “It’s not really strange so much as it’s frustrating, but it happens.”

Street had converted all nine of his save chances for the Angels since his July 18 acquisition, but he was pitching on a third consecutive day for the first time in three months. He said that was a non-factor.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said his team could have made Street’s struggle of an inning a non-factor by converting on earlier offensive chances.

“This game was by no means lost in the ninth inning,” Scioscia said. “This game was lost on the offensive side through a bunch of situations, where we needed to either score some runs with outs or get a key hit. And we weren’t able to do it.”

The Angels (72-50) scored two quick runs in the second on four straight singles with no outs, then made three consecutive weak outs to allow Rangers right-hander Nick Tepesch an escape.

They also failed to score a run when Efren Navarro got to third base with no outs in the fourth inning.

“Looking back on the day, we had a bunch of opportunities to score some runs,” Mike Trout said. “We just had to put the ball in play. It was one of those games when we just didn’t get that big hit.”

Maybe the best chance to expand the lead came in the sixth inning, when Trout walked and Albert Pujols doubled off the left-field wall. Trout had been attempting to steal second and would normally have scored, but he didn’t see the ball’s path and slid into second, slowing him down and forcing him to hold up at third.

Three consecutive Angels then struck out swinging to end the inning.

“I probably should have looked at (Angels third-base coach Gary DiSarcina),” Trout said of Pujols’ double. “I definitely will next time. I couldn’t really find the ball. Once I did find it, I was able to get to third, but I should have scored, for sure.”

Left-hander Hector Santiago continued to throw well for the Angels, with his six innings of one-run ball Sunday lowering his ERA to 3.49 – second-best among Angels starters.

Scioscia had stressed he wants to avoid using his late-inning relievers more often than necessary, but he did so in an optional situation Sunday. Santiago threw only 87 pitches and expected to pitch the seventh; instead, right-hander Kevin Jepsen replaced him.

“There’s a lot of guys in here that have been pitching a lot, and that’s something we’ll have to pay attention to,” Scioscia said.

Santiago has allowed just five earned runs in his past five starts, good for a 1.63 ERA. He hasn’t gotten credit for a win in any of them.

Related Links

Angels closer Huston Street, right, walks off the field as the Texas Rangers' Adrian Beltre scores the game-winning run in the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. RONALD MARTINEZ , GETTY IMAGES
Angels third baseman David Freese makes a throwing error to first base on a grounder hit by the Texas Rangers' Adam Rosales during the seventh inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. JIM COWSERT , ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Angels' Mike Trout, left, is tagged out in a run-down by Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor during the fifth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. JIM COWSERT , ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Angels' David Freese, right, is congratulated by Albert Pujols after scoring a run on a ground-out hit by Kole Calhoun during the second inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. JIM COWSERT , ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Texas Rangers' Jim Adduci, right, steals second base against the Angels' Howie Kendrick in the eighth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. RONALD MARTINEZ , GETTY IMAGES
The Texas Rangers' Adam Rosales, right, hits his game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. RONALD MARTINEZ , GETTY IMAGES
The Angels' Erick Aybar, right, legs out a single in the second inning on Sunday in Arlington, Texas. RONALD MARTINEZ , GETTY IMAGES
The Texas Rangers' Adam Rosales, center, celebrates his RBI single in the ninth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. RONALD MARTINEZ , GETTY IMAGES

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